Fact Sheet: Reproductive Rights in Nepal

10.27.11 -
In 2002, abortion was decriminalized on broad grounds in Nepal. It was in the same
year that the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Forum for Women, Law and Development released a fact-finding report entitled Abortion in Nepal: Women Imprisoned that documented human rights violations experienced by women under Nepal's criminal abortion ban. Since
then, Nepal has consistently expanded women's reproductive freedoms under national law. The 2007 Interim Constitution, which was introduced following
the abolition of Nepal's monarchy, recognizes women's reproductive rights as fundamental rights. The Nepal Supreme Court's decisions in landmark cases
such as Lakshmi Dhikta v. Government of Nepaland Prakash Mani Sharma v. Government of Nepal reflect the government's unequivocal recognition of women's reproductive rights as fundamental
rights.